Stranded
by jtnlflash
Summary: After a surprise attack in a storm, Battleship Nagato wakes up on a deserted island. With her equipment destroyed and no way to contact the base, how will she get home? There are mysteries on the island that threaten her survival. Dark mysteries.
1. Before the Storm

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kantai Collection or any of the characters whatsoever. This includes the actual ships, their histories, etc. I'm just a fan of Kancolle as a gamer and of the ships as a history lover, nothing more.**

* * *

(0)

When I first awoke, I knew nothing about the world around me. Lost in a vast, expansive, gray fog over the oceans, I knew not where I was or how I got there. Who I was, however, was not a mystery. My memories told me I was born as the first battleship of the 8-8 fleet programme. The flagship of the Combined Fleet of the Japanese Navy, I was also called one of the 'Big 7' along with my sister, Mutsu. Nagato – a battleship from a war long since passed – that was who I was. That was my name, but I was not a ship. That ship left the world at the Bikini Atoll. I was a ship girl.

Ship girls were beings that nobody was certain about, not even us. We were born alone on the seas with strong firepower and natural survival instincts. Such abilities were necessary because we were never truly alone after awakening. The reason why I possessed cannons as part of the rigging on my back came to me the moment I encountered hostiles within the mist. Black and white creatures, some beastly, others humanoid, attacked me relentlessly. It may have been primal for both of us. My body told me to fight them just as they tried to attack me. I learned quickly that I was to fight back if I were to survive. For my first battle, I was able to show my superior strength, and that strength drew the attention of others outside of the fog of battle.

" _You're strong. Would you be willing to fight with us?"_

There was no question as to my response.

" _I look forward to working with you from now on."_ I told the golden medal decorated admiral and gave him a salute my body already knew by heart. The officer and his subordinates, my comrades, returned the salute.

I carved my place into the naval fleet with my strength and effort. In return, I was rewarded with camaraderie and warmth I would never find simply wandering the empty seas. To be able to share a meal under the dim yellow lights of a bar, to be able to talk and joke and laugh while watching the orange sunset on a green, grass field, to be able to fight side by side with others along the blue seas under the blue skies knowing they in turn were watching my own back… I, who had fought alone until then, felt like color had been added into my lonesome, monochrome world.

I worked to protect that color.

Training with my fellow comrades, I showed them the power of the Big 7, and outside in the ocean waters, I supported my friends with all of my heart. Counseling, strategy, shelling practice, encouragement, I grasped at every opportunity I could to help my comrades and friends. Eventually, I became looked at as a leader people could trust, and even the admirals saw me as their equal in authority. When it came to taking charge of strategies on the battlefield and building morale, I was one they could turn to.

" _P-please to meet you… I am the Kongou-class Battleship, Haruna. I-I look forward to working with you!"_

" _I'm Haguro… the youngest of the Myoukou class… U-um… I'm sorry!"_

" _Good day to you… I am the heavy cruiser Kumano… My apologies, I'm not used to being out in the field…."_

I later came to take on the duty of motivating new recruits, and I did so with all of my heart. I was strict in drilling them for battle so they could improve their ability to protect themselves. At the same time, I was also kind and open to talk so we could build trust in each other. Self-confidence and discipline, those were the two things I spent long hours coaching them to develop. Practice battles, team building exercises, combat drills, Spartan training, I went through everything I could think of for those girls to find their strengths. I hoped they could also find that sense of belonging that I had found.

" _Fast battleship, Haruna, reporting for duty!"_

" _Myoukou-class fourth ship, Haguro. I will support the front lines!"_

" _TooooooOooouuuh!"_

Haruna, Haguro, and Kumano were among a few of the girls I supported. As nervous as they were having been alone in the world until we located them, they grew to believe in themselves. They began to take charge. Haruna never gave up and always assured herself that she was alright. Haguro stopped apologizing over every little thing and spoke with authority that grew when she earned her second remodel. Kumano took to using Zuiun planes with a battle cry that took even her sisters off guard.

I couldn't be more proud of them. They were all fighting to bring peace to the oceans and protect the land they were now able to call their home. Together, we hoped the bright yellow sunrays from above the white clouds and the light blue sky would continue to pierce through the dense mist that the Abyssal Fleet, our unpredictable enemy rampaging through the seas, called home. We would push them back. We would ensure the safety of our comrades, our friends, our families, our country. The seas would be calm once again with us ship girls working together.

That dreary day, I set out for battle with the first fleet, ready to make a difference and finish our operation in the Northern Pacific Sea.

* * *

 _Here's an experimental work with Nagato as the main character._ _ _By experimental, I mean they'll be short chapters but the story'll be long. I'll be trying to push out chapters whenever I have time._ I've gotten into a habit of putting characters I like through hell lately, so I'm sorry, Nagato. Be strong. ~Richi  
_


	2. Sortie in the Rain

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kantai Collection or any of the characters whatsoever. This includes the actual ships, their histories, etc. I'm just a fan of Kancolle as a gamer and of the ships as a history lover, nothing more.**

* * *

(1)

Out in the battlefield, it was important to be ready for anything, to consider the worst case scenario and prepare for it. This did not only involve predicting the enemy's strategy but also reading the location, the time, and the weather. That morning when my fleet left to finish our campaign in the north, the sun was not shining. The sky was covered by a layer of thick gray clouds. A storm was brewing, I knew, but we had no choice but to venture forth. We could not give the Abyssal Fleet any reprieve after we had driven so many away to reclaim territory. As such, it was necessary to properly equip our members.

"Nagato-san, are you sure Haruna should be with her? Haruna will be fine on her own. Please, let one of the others work with her."

"I appreciate your confidence, Haruna, but with the other battleships still waiting to dock, we're the only two who are still fit for the operation. We need to maintain our firepower for as long as we can manage. Understood?"

"… Affirmative… But Nagato-san, at the very least, the flag ship should b-"

"Don't worry about me. Let that child take care of you. It's a rare occasion whenever she comes out to help."

The Emergency Repair Goddess, a powerful fairy whose skill was unparalleled, was a being neither my admiral nor myself had any weight over. She decided when she wanted to help, and whenever she came out, the admirals made it their priority to follow her desires. Though it had been ages since the last time she emerged from her dwelling, the Repair Goddess could only use her powers once before resting again for another long length of time. She only willingly decided to join us if she knew she was needed. This worried me. For our upcoming operation, we were both blessed and cursed by the omen. If she had come to give us her aid, would one of us be in danger in the next battle?

When I had asked the miracle worker fairy to accompany Haruna, the small creature accepted. I hoped Haruna would remain safe throughout the operation, but also considered the danger to the other members of our fleet who did not have her priority in protecting. I urged the admiral to provide everyone with the best we had. The man listened to my concerns and approved the request.

We set sail with our priority being taking out the aircraft that reconnaissance informed us there would be a swarm of and to locate the installation base somewhere within the northern waters. Our carriers, Hiryuu, Soryuu, and Shoukaku were armed to the teeth, and our replacement for Battleship Kongou, who had taken heavy damage and was still in the docks, was Heavy Cruiser Maya. She was prepared to battle after sitting on the sidelines the entire time waiting for her turn.

We saluted our comrades back at the base promising to carve victory into the dawn's horizon, but I still had my doubts that the operation would go smoothly.

I was right.

"This rain's getting on my nerves. Don't tell me the enemy's going to be launching planes in this too."

"This isn't a good place for us to be right now."

"I'm worried they're concealing themselves with the dark clouds. Everybody, be stay alert,"

"Roger!"

The instant we entered the foggy region where the Abyssal ships were hiding, we were assaulted by rain and wind. The storm was in full force, reducing visibility to just two meters in front us. We could see nothing but white fog. What was worse was that our radio contact with the base became nothing more than static. The storm had cut off our communications line. We were on our own. I took my position as the flag ship and field commander and immediately ordered everyone on the defensive.

I turned to the fairies assisting me with operating my rigging. The fairies for my 41 and 46 cm gun mounts were just a tense as I was. Even the fairy in charge of my type-3 shells was awake and alert. They knew there was danger. Shoukaku, Hiryuu, and Soryuu confirmed that with their fairy pilots.

"There are hostiles coming in at 3 o' clock!"

"Assume diamond formation! Carriers, be wary when you launch! Maya, support them. Haruna, be ready follow my lead. We'll repel the attack," I thought quickly and gave my command.

"Right, let's go for the big ones when we spot them!"

"Anti-aircraft warfare? You can count on me!"

"Nagato-san, Haruna will give it all she's got!"

My comrades followed by orders eagerly. We were all used to combat, but how the battle would go in the storm was still up in the air. The waters were churning and dark, almost a blackish color instead of their usual radiant blue. Within enemy territory where the weather was beginning to grow into a typhoon, we had no choice but to fight with all of our strength.

The enemy came just as Soryuu had said. The three carriers countered the enemy fighters with their own planes and Maya's and our own anti-air guns. We managed to evade their opening strike and launch one of our own. It was at that time when Haruna and I saw the composition of the enemy fleet.

"An oni type… What's more, an armored aircraft carrier is the flag ship. What should be our next move, Nagato-san?" asked the Kongou class battleship.

For our first battle to be with an oni class, we had to be getting closer to the heart of enemy territory. We could not afford to waste our time and energy fighting the outer guards. I knew a change in plans had to be made. "Fight to make an opening. Don't worry if you don't take them all out. We'll break through and push on through."

"Understood!"

The others agreed with my decision and struck. Haruna and I targeted the oni and her heavy cruiser guards. Maya and Hiryuu struck the battleship together with a strike from above and below using planes, shelling, and torpedoes. And Shoukaku and Soryuu together cleaned up the accompanying destroyers and hit the oni until she could no longer launch planes. Our teamwork took down the enemy with relative ease.

"Deeeeei!" Maya smacked aside the oni the turret on her arm slamming the enemy right in the face. She made an abrupt but brilliant opening for us to break away from combat.

"Perfect. Now charge!"

We dashed through the broken holes in the enemy's defense as quickly as we could, using storm's wind as a tailwind to increase our speed. With the oni and her surviving but injured cruisers unable to follow us, we were able to press forth. For us, it was a tactical victory. We had succeeded in forcing our way past the enemy line with very little damage to our fleet. Only Soryuu, who had a bad run of luck with the battleship's shelling, was scratched up enough to call it minor damage.

We headed south following the compass fairies' suggestions and found a safe location to rest. The storm was continuing to pound on us, but we ignored it. We had to access our situation and consider our next plan of action. I checked the radio for any word from the naval base, but there was still only static. I wondered if the strange fog we were fighting in had some sort of jamming ability to it, but the radio had been fine in all of the previous sorties.

"It's fine, Nagato-san. We all trust your orders even without commands from the base," Haruna assured me to not worry over the broken communication line. She struggled to keep her bangs out of her eyes now that her hair was soaked wet.

"The enemy will probably realize our position soon," Hiryuu informed me. She took care of watch duty while we examined Soryuu's wounds and attempted to reestablish contact with the base. "It looks like we have no choice but to head northeast. I have a feeling there'll be one hell of a welcoming party for us.

I nodded. It was dangerous to linger in one place for too long. Though the fairies had found us a temporary haven, we were still behind enemy lines and the rain was unrelenting. I checked with my fairy partners to confirm their condition. The recon seaplane fairy had been trying to clean her up from the last battle, but otherwise, everyone's conditions were all green.

I turned to Haruna to give the order to continue, but then I noticed the Repair Goddess jump out from the battleship's rigging and onto her head. Haruna took a step forward to properly balance herself. She inadvertently approached me enough for me to speak to the fairy face to face.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

The fairy pointed at her ear. She wanted us to listen closely as the wind was being too loud. I nodded and turned my head so my ear was facing her.

"Something's… nearby…"

My eyes widened. The Emergency Repair Goddess did not need to say any more. I immediately turned away and was on full alert. I looked left, right, and above. If there was any enemy ship that had entered our range, Hiryuu and Shoukaku would have detected them. My sudden guarding pose put the other ship girls on alert as well. We formed a circle to protect our backs. Haruna readied her main cannons when the Repair Goddess jumped back onto her rigging. Maya and Soryuu stopped their makeshift first aid treatment and armed themselves. Shoukaku readied her bow and kept an eye on Hiryuu who checked in with her pilots.

It would difficult for us to be sunk in our condition. None of us ship girls had received any heavy damage to signify any need to retreat back to base, but there was danger in the northern waters. That was why the Emergency Repair Goddess had decided to tag along. I appreciated her warning. I needed to protect my fleet with all of my strength as a member of the Big 7. Any enemy that we would detect, I would take down before any of the others had the slightest chance of being hurt.

"Hiryuu… Do we have any information on the enemy's location?" I asked, ready to fire my cannons should it be necessary.

"No… I'm not detecting anything threatening. Nothing in the air or in the water picks up as an Abyssal. Maybe that fairy's just seeing things."

It was true that there had been previous times when the Repair Goddess had come back from a mission with nothing happening. It was also true that Hiryuu was the type to double check her findings due to having previously worked under the wise fleet admiral. I took her response to heart, but I still did not relax. I could not leave any stone unturned. I relied on my own senses, despite the rain reducing my visibility and hearing. It wasn't anything super amazing like sensing killing intent or ki like the young destroyers back at the base liked to believe, but I had fought through enough battles to have a sort of gut feeling of where danger could be. My body felt the Repair Goddess's concerns were well warranted.

 _Splash!_

"Nagato-san!"

"Wha-!"

I could not finish my sentence. In an instant, I felt a cold hand grip onto my left leg. The next thing I knew, I was pulled under the water. From beneath, we had been taken off guard. The target was me, the flagship. Somehow evading the enemy radar and Hiryuu's reconnaissance, the enemy had snuck their way through to pull me under.

I struggled to escape my captor and kicked and punched my way back up to the surface. I saw a hand reach down into the water, attempting to rescue me. The hand's owner, Haruna, had her face full of panic. I, too, was desperately fighting to be able to stand on water again. My breath was leaving me with every movement I was making.

 _Boom!_

Maya attempted to assist by firing into the water, but they did nothing to loosen the grip of my captor. Even my own power was unable to escape the rigor mortis-like grasp the enemy had on me.

I stretched my arm up as far as I could. Haruna's hand was just a few centimeters away. It was then that girl ship girl dove into the water out of her own accord to grab my arm with both hands and pull it up.

" _Na… ga…to…san!"_

Though she could not properly vocalize her words underwater, I could read Haruna's lips just fine. She had gotten a hold of me and the carriers were ready to assist to pull me up. I could feel my body pulled in two different directions by my comrades above me and by the watery assassin still gripping my leg.

I let go of the last amount of oxygen from my lungs. I could no longer hold it in any longer. Water flooded my lungs as my mouth and nose instinctively opened to breathe in. I had to do something to get rid of my captor or else Haruna the others' efforts would be in vein.

I looked down to the being that had taken me by surprise. It was then that I realized there was nobody there anymore. Instead, there was seaweed wrapping around my leg tightly.

"You won't get away…"

My attacker appeared in front of me, speaking within the water to me as though she were speaking in air. She was humanoid, but she moved so quickly, I could only see a blur. I only caught a glimpse of her pale face and red eyes before she opened her arms wide and legs wide and wrapped both of them around me tightly and painfully like a snake coiling around its prey.

Although I had struggled to fight with all of my battleship vigor, she squeezed the last of my stamina out of me. My vision was growing dark. I kept my gaze up to where my comrades were, but I could no longer feel any sensations to know whether or not they were still holding onto me. I had fallen for the enemy's trap. Was this how I was going to sink? At the very least, it was going to be during an operation to battle with the enemy… And not that flash…

But a flash, I did see. Before I grew unconscious, a pure white light consumed everything I could see.

* * *

 _Totally breaking the game here and sinking a barely scratched up flagship from the get go. Haruna gets some screen time after the mention from last chapter. Haguro and Kumano... well that'll wait to be seen. Also, I'm wondering if I should come up with names for Nagato's fairies... The Type 3 (sanshiki) can get Shiki easily, but what about the others? This'll require some thinking. ~Richi_


	3. Awakening

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kantai Collection or any of the characters whatsoever. This includes the actual ships, their histories, etc. I'm just a fan of Kancolle as a gamer and of the ships as a history lover, nothing more.**

* * *

(2)

I had no knowledge of how long I had been asleep. I had no knowledge of how I had even survived. It was midday when I awoke. The hot sun's rays beat down on my body from directly above. The storm had passed and the fog had cleared. It was no less than a miracle. I found myself, along with my wrecked rigging and its fairies, washed up on the sandy shore of some beach. We had been tossed along by the ocean waves like seaweed and then dried under the hot sun.

I made it my first priority to ascertain the condition of my comrades, my fairies. The fairy in charge of my 41 cm triple gun mount was resting limply on the barrel of the damaged turret when I approached, but she stirred awake when I touched her to check for wounds. I was relieved to say the fairy only had a few scratches on her.

"Looks like you're safe, though I can't say the same for the cannons."

I looked through the rest of my destroyed equipment. I was glad for my ship girl strength because I was able to lift the metal weapons with the utmost care. I found the fairies for my recon seaplane and the Type 3 shell both dazed and asleep. They, too, were mostly uninjured, at least physically. Their clothes were torn and their precious equipment was destroyed just like my own.

The fairy who worked on my 46 cm gun was in the worst condition out of all of us. She was furthest away from where we awakened. I found her in the fetal position on the sand, groaning in pain as she clutched her left arm. I could see the angle it was bent at was unnatural. Though the rest of us had been fortunate, that luck had not been able to protect us all.

I hesitantly approached the injured fairy. Her comrades did the same. They tried calling her, but she was in too much pain to respond. She was breathing heavily and sweating. I feared she may have gotten heatstroke in addition to her broken arm.

"This isn't good. You three, can you apply first aid?"

"Yes!"

I was grateful to see my fairies salute and get right to business. I feared my own physical strength would be too much for the injured fairy. The 41 cm turret fairy began to check her comrade's pulse and temperature. The Type-3 shell's fairy began rummaging through our broken rigging for anything that could help. I tore some of the fabric off my tattered skirt for her so she could use it as a sack. My recon pilot fairy took a different approach. She grabbed a chipped piece of rigging and gestured to me. I realized from the bucket like shape of the metal that she was requesting for water. If she had heatstroke, getting her some water was indeed a priority.

At that moment, I realized the danger we were in. Though we had drifted ashore, we were without food or water. Even if my power as a battleship could protect us from enemies and wild beasts, I could not protect us from hunger and dehydration.

"We're surrounded by water, but drinking from the ocean will kill us sooner," I shook my head and turned away from the sea to survey our location.

Though my radar had been broken, I did not need it to realize we were on an island. Tall tropical trees and wave-beaten rocks surrounded our beach which stretched into the distance. Inland, I could see dense jungle and a more hilly terrain. I needed to get to higher ground to properly get a feel for the layout of the island, but I did not overlook one temporary solution for our water problem.

Among the trees growing by the ocean, coconut trees were present. I moved to the closest fruit bearing tree and looked high up above. Just below the green leaves, I could see five of the fruits growing. They were green, young coconuts. I placed my hand on the tree.

"I thank you for your assistance. I will be gentle."

With a clenched fist, I punched the truck of the tree. The shockwave from the impact shot up the tree and shook the fruits. They fell. I backed away to avoid them, but quickly approached again after it was safe. As I picked up the coconuts in my arms, I inspected the tree. I had held back, but the impact of my fist left a mark, or rather, a small crater.

"Sorry. This is an emergency," I rushed back to my comrades with the water filled fruits in hand. Using a piece of broken metal from my rigging, I jabbed a hole into the outer portion of the fruit and began to carve off the top. When I succeeded, we had water inside to work with.

"Thank you!" my recon fairy put her small bucket shaped piece of metal into the opened coconut to collect some water to bring to her friend. The 41 cm turret fairy was ready to help.

"I'll leave it to you two," I entrusted the duty of nursing our comrade to them. As I did, the Type-3 shell's fairy touched my foot. I looked down and saw that she was pointing at where my main cannons were. Anxious to know what she had found, I followed her tiny footsteps over.

Behind the rigging, the fairy had laid out various items she felt could be of use. In such a short span of time, she had collected a fair amount. The fairy had left me with a large but sharp piece of broken metal, one that was easier to grip than the one I had used to open the coconut. Additionally, there was a pile of screws and bolts. What caught my attention, however, was my broken headgear which housed the communication's device back to base.

I picked up my broken headgear to give it a closer inspection. Parts of the main tower were chipped and cracking while some circuitry had been exposed to the water. Even worse, it had been broken into 4 distinct pieces. That was not to say that it was beyond repair however. If we could manage it, it would be possible to contact the base and call for rescue.

I pat the Type-3 Shell fairy her on the head and gave her my thanks. "You did well. Please keep collecting whatever you can."

It was possible to fix our communication's device, and we could gather plenty of coconuts and coconut water for temporary sustenance. Knowing that, I felt some relief. What still worried me, however, was the health of our injured comrade. Night would fall soon. Her condition would worsen if we did not manage to find shelter from the cold ocean wind. We had awakened at midday, so I only had a few hours before the sun would set.

"On second thought…," I stopped my fairy friend from getting to her work gathering from our equipment. She turned to me, and I picked her up carefully so as not to rip her already tattered clothes. "I need you to accompany me. We need to gather resources and find a safe place to last the night."

"Yes! Good idea!"

The fairy nodded and gave me a serious salute. With her in hand, I walked towards our other two comrades. I was glad to see the 46 cm gun turret's fairy was drinking in the coconut water. For a moment, I relaxed. It was reassuring to see the fairy being nursed. I put down the fairy next to her friends and began to moved my broken rigging. I made a makeshift windshield with the wreckage and placed my broken headgear and the spare screws and bolts behind it. I took the long metal piece along with me. It would make a half-way decent knife.

After I was finished, I returned to my fairy comrades and knelt down. The Type-3 fairy jumped back onto my palm and climbed up to my shoulder. The two of us turned to the 41 cm turret fairy and the recon pilot fairy who were nursing the 46 cm turret fairy.

"You two. We'll try to make it back as soon as we can. If we don't return in 4 hours, use this place for shelter," I advised them. "We'll survey this land and bring back everything useful we can find."

"… Be careful," the 41 cm turret fairy saluted.

I nodded. I hoped they would be too.

* * *

 _A quickie since I have a lot of work to do due to a scheduling mishap. I do want to write more now that I have finally gotten my beloved Naganami-sama who is inspiring me to work harder. I'll make it tougher on Nagato and co. when I have more time. By the way, coconuts are delicious. I'm craving some right now. ~Richi  
_


	4. The Jungle

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kantai Collection or any of the characters whatsoever. This includes the actual ships, their histories, etc. I'm just a fan of Kancolle as a gamer and of the ships as a history lover, nothing more.**

* * *

(3)

In order to survive two basic essentials should always be top priority: finding a source of water and finding shelter. As I ventured through the humid jungle, I kept those essentials in mind. I paid close attention to the sound of moving water and kept my eyes open to safe locations in which we could rest. Unfortunately, all I could hear were birds and bugs. Their chirping and buzzing were making it difficult to focus; however, I still welcomed them. With wildlife on the island, I was certain we could also find sustenance. After we found water and shelter, food would be next on our list.

"That's ten."

"Alright. Let's make another then."

I stopped when my fairy partner spoke to me. I took the makeshift knife in my hand and knelt down. At my knee level, I carved a small "X" shape into one of the trees. Every ten meters we walked, I had been doing this to prevent getting lost and to be able to find our way back to the beach as we ventured into the forest. It served as a marker for our journey.

We had made thirty-one markers since the two of us entered the jungle. From the direction the sun was moving, I concluded that we had been on the southeastern side of the island and had been moving west. There was still no sight of water, but I felt at my feet that we were on an incline. If we moved south, we would be heading downhill and if we moved north, we would be going uphill.

I vouched for moving downhill. We changed our direction from west to south. If we wanted to find water, we would be better off following the path water would travel. I carved an arrow below the X on the tree I had marked. With that, we continued further.

After what may have been over an hour's worth of traveling, I had gotten a better grasp of what sort of island we had landed on. It was one where trees and rocks made up a majority of the landscape. As we moved into the island from our small beach, we found we had to navigate around tall rocks covered in moss and plant life. As we did so, we moved both up hills and down hills where fallen tree branches and tall grass covered the rocky ground. The sand on the beach most likely only made up the outer ring of the island. This thought encouraged me. For the flora on the island to grow, there had to be fresh water nearby. I pulled and cut my way through vines and tall grass and watched my footing as we navigated through the jungle.

"Wait! That's a snake!" On our trek, I heard the warning in my left ear from my shoulder riding friend. I heard it too late, however, as I had just pulled on what was clearly not a vine when it started to hiss and coil around my right arm.

"W-Whoa!"

I dropped my weapon and my left arm shot out just in time to grab the black and white snake's head as it lunched to bite me. It was a close call. Its fangs were within a centimeter of my neck. The serpent was still very aggressive. It started to coil around my right arm tightly while its head struggled to escape my grip.

"Hey, stand still!" I lost my hold on the slippery creature for a moment and it targeted my upper arm. I grabbed it again, but once again, it slipped through my fingers and prepared for another strike.

On the fourth attempt, I was able to get a wrap my hand around the snake, but the animal was more cunning than I had expected. It had pulled back its body just as I had gotten hold of it. Before I could properly tighten my grip, it had to opportunity to strike and did so by shooting forward toward my head.

"Stop that!"

My vision that was filled with the inside of the snake's mouth was quickly changed with the sight of the Type-3 Shell's fairy upper cutting the snake from my lower left, sending its lower jaw back up to its mouth and redirecting the snake's path to just a few centimeters by my right ear. The snake had started to uncoil itself from my arm when it attacked, so when its head flew past me, so did the rest of its body.

Before I could take a breath of relief, my battle instincts took over and I rolled forward to grab the makeshift knife I had dropped and create some distance between myself and the snake. I threw the metal shard with all of my strength. I speared the serpent through its body roughly 20 cm below its head.

I kept my guard up. My fairy comrade who had landed on the dirt did the same. Though we were breathing deeply from the sudden surprise attack, we made sure to ensure everything was clear. There were no other snakes in the area. It had just been the one, and it was now dead.

I wiped the sweat from my brow and walked over to the dead serpent. I reclaimed my weapon and looked down at the snake. The Type-3 Shell's fairy also approached. She placed her hand on its head and looked into its eyes. She was certain it was dead, and I was certain as well.

"It's not green," the fairy told me. I shook my head, knowing I was being scolded for being unobservant. The black and white of the snake were a color scheme that stood out in the green and brown jungle. I should have spotted it sooner. Because I did not, we had wasted a lot of energy that desperately we needed to conserve.

"Thank you for helping me," I changed the subject by kneeling down to pick up the fairy again. I complimented her skills. "That was a good punch. I couldn't get a good enough grip on it, so that was a really close call."

The fairy climbed onto my palm and flexed her muscles. "It was nothing."

I got a chuckle from the Type-3 Shell fairy's humbleness. With her on my shoulder, I clapped my hands together and bowed at the snake in respect for having had to take its life.

(4)

The next dozen or so minutes navigating through the jungle went by slowly. I was now aware of the presence of snakes. The red marks from where the first one had constricted its body around my arm served as a reminder of that. It would disappear in due time, but after our first encounter, I made sure to check where I was stepping and grabbing for anything dangerous.

There was not another snake, but instead there were several large bugs: dragonflies, centipedes, and mosquitos. I made sure to keep my fairy friend away from those large in comparison creatures but had to increase my pace out of my own discomfort from the bug bites. Evading the big insects distracted me, but my partner was not and heard something.

"…! Water! I hear water!"

As I hopped onto a moss covered boulder, my fairy friend began bouncing up and down. At her words, my eyes widened. I looked left and right and cupped my ears so I could hear the sound of a river or stream.

"Where is it?" I asked.

"Down there!" I turned my head so I could see where the Type-3 Shell fairy on my shoulder was pointing. My eyes traced the path from her finger down to her target. She was right. There was a small stream moving steadily downhill.

I tightened my grip on broken rigging shard and carved a circle in the stone. We had found what we had been looking for. I warned my travel companion to hang on tight because immediately after she braced herself, I jumped off the boulder and landed three meters down on a smaller stone. I jumped once more and fell another meter to more level terrain. When I stood up, I marked another tree with a circle.

I checked the Type-3 Shell's fairy to see that she was safe. She had used my long hair as a safety rope and wrapped it around her waist. "I'm sorry for the bumpy ride. It looks like it'll just be a walk down from here."

My fairy friend, though dazed, nodded. Both of us could now clearly hear the water flowing downstream. There was a cool smell in the air from below. It was a refreshing change from the humidity of the island jungle. Three minutes of moving a little further south and downhill, we were able to take our first drink of fresh water.

"It's cold," my fairy remarked as she cupped the liquid in her hands and brought it up to her mouth. She took the words right out of my mouth. We were grateful to have found water. Not only that, the stream's water was remarkably clean. Not only could we drink, we could also disinfect and bathe. We had found a lifeline that would help us survive.

After drinking our fill, I took the time to make note of our surroundings. There were small pebbles and rocks along the side of the stream as well as several tall trees and flowers. What I was searching for was a small clearing by some steep hill or tall rock. A location where our backs could be protected would be safe for a temporary shelter. That way, we had one less direction to worry about if there were any beasts nearby.

I surveyed the terrain, but unfortunately, my criteria may have been too greedy. If there was any location such as that, it would most likely be further upstream. Nonetheless, there were other options. A short distance away from the river was a small clearing in the trees by the river, a rough circular space approximately 5-6 meters around. Though, I, a ship girl, had never gone camping before, I had seen photos from my admiral who had a hobby of taking his family camping in the mountains. It resembled his campsites. For the first night, that would be more than perfect for us.

"Over there," I pointed at where I decided our temporary base would be for my comrade to see. "Let's bring the others here and make shelter over there for the night."

The Type-3 Shell's fairy saluted. Looking up into the sky above the tree tops, we saw the sun not directly overhead. If I had to approximate, it had been 2 hours since we had left our point of origin. Now that we knew the path and marked it, we could more easily head back. Thought it would be cutting it close to nightfall, we would be able to bring the others to a shelter and a water source.

* * *

 _Howdy, ya'll. Sorry for the delay. Been Pokemon Sun-ing and God Eater-ing it up. Got to go back to Kancolle since I finally got Yahagi one of her sisters. Also the movie. Need some time to experience that too. I had trouble trying to figure out where was a decent enough end of chapter. ~Richi_


End file.
